


From the Ashes Will Arise

by ajfessler



Series: The Marksmen [3]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Iron Man 1, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, The Marksman, alternative universe, the saga continues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-30
Updated: 2017-02-05
Packaged: 2018-09-20 20:49:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9514559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ajfessler/pseuds/ajfessler
Summary: The phone ringing startled him. Something had to be wrong. Grabbing his phone, adrenaline surging through his veins Phil hit the button to accept the call and asked tersely, “What?”Nick Fury’s voice traveled down the line and sounded strange as the Director of SHIELD told him, “There has been an accident. Tony Stark is missing.”He felt the phone fall from his fingers as they went numb. Tony Stark was missing in Afghanistan. Phil now had the dubious honor of telling one Clint Barton the lover he had just been fighting with was now missing, presumed dead.Somewhere deep in a dark cave, Tony Stark screamed.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I know, I know. I said Budapest and 12/19/1991 would be next. Iron Man was part of my amazon prime and I just couldn't resist watching it, three times. 
> 
> So here are a few chapters detailing the events of Iron Man.
> 
> Enjoy,  
> -AJ

His apartment was silent without any chance of an interruption happening. Tony was in Afghanistan giving a weapons presentation. Clint was lost somewhere in the Amazon with Natasha dealing with a cartel leader that had started making overtures of a more global variety. They had gone in dark and Phil was expecting their phone call in precisely two hours for the first check in. Tony was due to report in by eight that evening. That gave Phil just enough time to skim through his latest issue of the only scientific journal Tony would publish in. So far, Phil had managed to collect all but one of the issues that had one of Tony’s papers. He would get the one he was missing, it was just a matter of time. 

The phone ringing startled him. It was too early for any of the check-ins. Turning he looked at the clock hung on the wall next to his door. Two hours until Clint, and seven until Tony. Something had to be wrong. Grabbing his phone, adrenaline surging through his veins Phil hit the button to accept the call and asked tersely, “What?” 

Nick Fury’s voice traveled down the line and sounded strange as the Director of SHIELD told him, “There has been an accident. Tony Stark is missing.” 

He felt the phone fall from his fingers as they went numb. Tony Stark was missing in Afghanistan. Phil now had the dubious honor of telling one Clint Barton the lover he had just been fighting with was now missing, presumed dead. 

Somewhere deep in a dark cave, Tony Stark screamed. 

~*(^.=.^)*~

Phil had been up for 32 hours straight, the Marksman had been mobilized, and seventeen of the most highly trained assassins were moving into surveillance positions. The Cartel leader had been neutralized, Phil didn’t ask how when Natasha called in instead of Clint. Her terse tone said a great deal about the state the archer was operating in. They were due on a plane headed home in an hour. Phil had a conference call that wasn’t officially going to happen in twenty minutes with the diplomatic heads of state for China, Iran, India, and Russia. Phil knew all four countries had surveillance units in and around Afghanistan. If Tony Stark was alive and sent any kind of signal, Phil wanted to be the first one who heard about it. After that, it would just be a waiting game. He checked his list one more time, Fury and Pepper were the last individuals he needed to touch base with and then he could crash for a couple hours. Just long enough to recharge and then it would be time to pick up Clint and Natasha and deal with the results of their mission. It was going to be a long day. 

~*~  
The cold was penetrating, seemingly going right straight down into his chest without stopping. Subverting what little heat his body could produce long before it made it to his extremities. Tony Stark gasped awake. There was darkness all around, what little light there was didn’t bode well for him as he took a look around. Memories, sluggish and slow, trickled back into his brain. Reminding him of where and what had happened. There had been the weapons demonstration, after that a Humvee full of children. 

Tony remembered being that age. Things had been easier at that age. There were no arguments between him and Clint. There were no timeouts and breaks and painful silences that Tony didn’t know how to fill and didn’t think Clint wanted him to anyway. It had been fun, and it had been easy, and they had been on the same page. These days Clint thought he drank too much, partied too much and said it felt like Tony had been cheating on him. Tony hadn’t, well not until the reporter the night before he left. Even then he hadn’t been able to do more than steer her into a guest room and let her do whatever it was she wanted to him. Tony hadn’t stuck around once she had fallen asleep. Too disgusted with himself and too out of sorts to do more than try and peel his skin off in the hottest shower Jarvis would permit before slinking down to his workshop, tail tucked firmly between his legs. 

The workshop had, like always, offered him sanctuary from his terrible choices and once there any number of projects offered him the escape from reality that he craved. Pepper’s disapproving tone only cut deeper into the already festering wounds inside upon her arrival the next morning. Tony could see in her face that she knew something had happened, the woman in the guest room would have told her that clearly enough. He was positive that there had been something in his face to spell out exactly what had happened to lead him to this point. If Tony hadn’t been avoiding getting on a plane and flying halfway around the world, he was sure there would be a phone call in his future from either Phil or Erica Potts. Pepper’s mother had a brand of I’m disappointed in you that took guilt to a whole new level. As it was, there was a plane to catch and a mind-numbingly long flight.

Everything had been going according to plan with the demonstration until it was time to leave. Something felt off, something felt wrong. If Tony hadn’t been wallowing in guilt and shame, he might have listened to those little warnings. The Marksman had trained them into him for a reason. Tony was feeling fatalistic, though, perhaps Phil and Clint were both better off without him. With that thought, he made some off-handed remark to ensure that Rhodey didn’t ride with him. Absently reasoning that the man would be safer if he weren't around. 

That thought process was entirely accurate when the Humvee in front of them blew up. His last thought as he was dialing the emergency distress line for the Marksman was that one of his many enemies had finally caught up with him. Except the missile said Stark.

He woke with a start again, causing everything to spasm and jolts of stabbing pain to prickle across his chest. This time when he woke up, he stayed awake. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement and turned his head. There was a man shaving. And a battery attached to his chest. Those shocking revelations were rapidly followed by shouting in Urdu. It was simple enough to pretend he didn’t have a clue what they were saying, to look to the stranger in a three piece suit for clarification. He wasn’t surprised to learn they wanted him to build weapons for them. Everyone did, it kept him awake long into the morning occasionally thinking about everything his inventions were capable of in the wrong hands. 

“I refuse.”

He hadn’t taken the car battery into consideration in his defiance. Electrocution was a bitch. 

~*~

It had been twenty-six days. Clint, to the best of Phil knowledge, hadn’t spoken a word to anyone in that entire time. Phil let him have his silence. They were all worried. There wasn't a body, but the likelihood of one showing up increased every hour. Phil was in constant contact with Jarvis, monitoring every satellite the supercomputer could gain access too. Maintaining open lines of communication with three of America’s least favorite countries and being provided round the clock as it happened updates. He had just finished with a call from Pakistan via Iran who had reported possible activity in one of the mountainous regions. They hadn’t sounded positive that their searches would turn up anything, but they were going to do a few flyovers to see if anything looked out of place. Phil knew they wouldn’t find anything. He remembered Afghanistan, he had never seen a more suitable visual of a rat's warren than the mountains in the Middle East. 

Rubbing his hands over his face, Phil stifled a yawn. It was just after two am and in three hours he was needed at SHIELD headquarters. Promptly, awake and dressed to the nines. There were bags of skittles to impress stopping by to observe how the military funds that were being funneled into SHIELD were being spent and as Fury’s one good eye Phil needed to be there and be ready to answer their questions. No matter what his personal feelings were on the subject matter. Phil sighed and shoved his fingers into his hair. It needed to be washed. 

A warm presence settled down beside him on the couch in the dim light from his reading lamp. Phil didn’t even have to turn his head to see that Clint had just sat down. Silently, Phil slowly exhaled before telling Clint quietly, “They haven’t found anything yet, and they are going to keep looking for now. Commander Namazi thinks there might have been some activity spotted in the mountains and will let me know if they can confirm it.” 

Phil’s fingers tightened in his hair. It wasn’t good enough, he knew that. It wasn’t good enough for himself so how could he expect the information to be good enough for Clint? Calloused fingers gently tugged his hands out of his hair before Clint told him, just as quietly, “I know, I speak Persian.” 

Phil made a startled noise in the back of his throat before chuckling. He should have known. Clint spoke almost as many languages as Tony, and sometimes their arguments sounded a bit like what Phil imagined the Tower of Babel would have, an incomprehensible mashup of language in which nothing got solved, but everything was understood. Phil shook his head and whispered, “I’m sorry.” 

He felt Clint curl up into his side before the archer told him, “It’s not your fault. It’s not mine, and it’s not Tony’s. It’s an unfortunate situation with the worst likely outcome. The only thing we can do is remember that Tony’s a Marksman and that he’s a genius. If anyone can get through this alive, it’s Tony Stark.” 

Phil nodded and said, “You should get some sleep, a big day later.” 

The noise Clint made was derogatory and made Phil smile.


	2. Chapter 2

Yinsen, the stranger's name was Yinsen, and they had apparently met once before. At a tech conference where Tony had been too drunk to care. Perhaps Clint was right, and he was drinking too much. Tony filed that thought away for later contemplation. Once he was safely home. Yinsen caught him off guard when the man asked him about his family. Memories of Phil and Clint and Pepper immediately sprang to mind even as his mouth answered no. There was nothing in the world that could force him to give up information on his small, fragile family. He knew they were all worried about him. He’d spent the better part of the last two decades slowly spiraling out of control. If it hadn’t been for the Marksman serum, he likely would have died of alcohol poisoning ten years ago. 

Resolve sizzled through his mind and caught on something deep in his chest; something behind the arc reactor. It burned strong and steady alongside the realization that he was everything he had vowed to fight against when he took his Marksman oath. Looking around the miserable little space, Tony promised himself, once he was home he would do better, be better at everything. Including loving Clint. 

~*~

It had been almost three months since the last sighting of Tony Stark when Phil received a video. He had just finished watching it for the first time when there was a startled noise from behind him. Twisting so he could see, Phil found Clint standing in the doorway to his apartment with a look of pain and shock on his face. Silence reigned between them for a long moment before Clint asked, a hard, bitter note twining through his tone, “When was that filmed?”

Phil twisted back to the computer and hit a few keystrokes before he replied, “About two days after Tony went missing.” 

Turning Phil watched Clint walk over to the computer and run a finger over the blurry image that was playing there. Clint then told Phil, “They said that they didn’t know the target they had been paid to kill was the great Tony Stark and are telling Obadiah Stane that the price to kill him had just gone up.” 

Phil sucked in a breath that could only mean Tony was still alive. Phil broke into furious typing. Tony Stark was still alive, and Phil had a small world who needed to know that there wasn’t a body to find but a living, breathing person. 

The phone ringing woke him from a deep sleep two nights later and with a disgruntled glare in the direction of the lump on his couch who had likely drugged him, again, Phil hit the connect button and put the phone to his ear. Before he could even get a word out fast, sharp Arabic babbled at him. Phil was instantly awake and tossing bedclothes aside to look for pants. There had been an explosion in the mountains and surveillance had caught something rocketing away from the blast. Phil responded tersely in the same language “I understand,” before he hung up the phone. Pants retrieved he strode with a purpose out into the living room, shoved Clint’s legs out of the way and logged into the uplink that would connect him with his major players. Once the names were all active Phil typed out only one message: sighting confirmed, roll rescue. Gulmira.

He then shook Clint awake and demanded, “Gear up, we’re heading out.” Phil didn’t wait to see how his words were received. They had their genius to get back and a new game to play to ensure that Tony was kept safe. 

~*~

Up was simple, down was surprisingly even easier albeit much more dangerous. Tony managed to land well enough that the suit took the damage leaving him armpit deep in the loose sand. For a long moment, he just rested, stuck in the sand and thanked the heavens that he was alive and free. Tony's mind whispered that this wasn’t safety yet, no one was shooting at him, but now the elements could have their way with him. Too much time on short rations and limited water would allow their toll to be taken far sooner than he would need to find his way to civilization. Finding his way to somewhere safe would take even longer. 

The resolve he had discovered in the cave fizzled back to life and goaded him into moving. First up and out of the suit and hole in the sand, then in a vaguely westward direction. As long as he wasn’t walking back towards the Ten Rings, he would accept whatever fate had in store for him. 

He had to stop a few hours later when the sun peaked, and it became too hot to even think. Settled on the backside of a sand dune where there was something resembling shade Tony let himself wassail between consciousness and sleep. Once it had started to cool off Tony pushed himself back up and begun to trudge in his chosen direction. It wasn’t long after that he heard the helicopters. Tony had never been so glad in all his life to see the matte black helicopter of the Marksman alongside one that was clearly from the army. Rhodey got to him first but Clint wasn’t too far behind, and the hug he received from the archer made everything better.

He was given a bottle of water and settled into the helicopter next to Rhodey moments later. As they were taking off Tony was disappointed to notice that Clint wasn’t with him and was, in fact, going the opposite direction of him. Tony watched the other helicopter until it disappeared over the horizon and told himself that it was okay, the issues they had argued about before his captivity were still there and Clint had every right to still be mad at him. They would work it out later. 

The Army base was bustling when they landed. He let the doctors look him over for serious injuries, and when they proclaimed that he was malnourished and dehydrated, but nothing else seemed wrong, he let them assume whatever they wanted. It didn’t matter if these strangers saw the scars from the whips and the brands and the knives and the fists. These were strangers who didn’t have an opinion of him other than what the media told them. He demanded a hot shower when they were through, and he was given a change of clothes. The desert camouflage pants and army green tee shirt didn’t fit him, but nothing had for the past three months, and that was okay. They were clean and whole, and there was plenty of hot water and soap. 

A hot meal of oatmeal and terrible coffee later he was being loaded into a transport bound for Germany. The ride was cold, noisy and bumpy but it got him away from burning sands and stinking caves. Once more on the ground, he was met by a Marksman, who had a change of clothes for him and informed him blandly that Tony was under his protection until back on home ground. Tony rolled his eyes as Rhodey looked between them in confusion. Tony didn’t fault Rhodey his lack of comprehension. Rhodey didn’t know about the Marksman, and this was the first time Tony had accepted a bodyguard that wasn’t Happy Hogan without complaint. They whisked him into a hotel where he was given ample time to take another shower and wash any leftover sand from his person. Once finished with that Tony took the time to shave and look himself over in the mirror. Well, he wasn’t attractive anymore. There were huge black and purple bruises from his crash. Most of the scarring from the Ten Rings treatment of him was hidden by the discoloration. Tony knew where it was though and his sharp eyes cataloged each new deformity. The biggest and most obvious being centered in the middle of his chest and glowed a soothing pale blue. The scar tissue that radiated out from the arc reactor was knotted and shiny white. He ran a finger over one of the ridges and shuddered. Who would want to touch him now?

~*~

Phil breathed a sigh of relief. Tony was safely in the hands of the Marksman in Germany and Clint was taking out any lingering anger and frustration on the terrorist who thought they could take Tony Stark and get away with it. Soon they would all be back in the United States, and Phil could get a decent night's sleep. He rubbed his face and glanced at the clock. Too early for coffee and too late for whiskey. With another sigh, Phil settled down into the pillow and blanket that Clint had been using telling himself just an hour.

The jangle of his home phone ringing woke him abruptly. He cursed when his glance at the clock told him he’d been asleep for almost ten hours. Now it was too late for coffee and too early for whiskey. Phil just couldn’t win it seemed. Rolling his eyes he answer his phone, “Yes?” 

The last voice in the world he expected to hear on the other end of the line was Nick Fury. In retrospect, Phil considered that Fury probably wasn’t actually the last voice he supposed. But it was close. The Director asked him, “Agent Coulson, weren’t you meant to be on a plane headed to California two hours ago?” 

Phil cursed again and hung up the phone. It wouldn’t do him any good to rush now, the transport with Tony Stark on board would have already landed. So Phil took his time and packed his bag. 

Surprisingly Phil arrived not long after the genius did, though with much less fanfare. The press conference was just starting when Phil walked through the door to Stark Industries Tony was sitting in front of a podium. From where Phil was standing in the back of the room, Tony looked terrible. It was evident the genius had lost a significant amount of weight and was jumpy like Phil had never seen before. Phil didn’t blame Tony, but it was concerning. 

Moving over to Pepper, Phil asked, “Miss Potts?”

He watched the feisty red head that Tony held in such high regard turn towards him and respond, “Yes.”

Phil gave one of his banal smiles before inquiring, “Can I speak to you for a moment?”

He knew she was too polite to roll her eyes at him but her statement when she told him, “I'm not part of the press conference, but it's about to begin right now.” Informed him that she wanted too. 

Phil maintained his bland look and told her firmly, “I'm not a reporter. I'm Agent Phil Coulson, with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division.” 

Pepper’s impressed look and little smile made it easy to keep smiling at her in return as she told him, “That's quite a mouthful.”

Phil gave Pepper a little nod and remarked, “I know. We're working on it.”

Phil was ready for her next comment, SHIELD never was the first one on the scene. Too many pies to keep fingers in even though SHIELD did twice as much to maintain the world safety as all the rest of the alphabet soup. Even with their cancer stubbornly flourishing. 

“You know, we've been approached already by the DOD, the FBI, the CIA…”

He listened as she trailed off before declaring, “We're a separate division with a more specific focus. We need to debrief Mr. Stark about the circumstances of his escape.”

Phil also wanted to check for himself that Tony was alright and he would, later. After everyone had left the genius to his workshop and his inventions. That would be when Phil would make his appearance with hot chocolate and patience. They had history and Phil would not be put off for long. Pepper’s smile took on a degree of stiffness that told Phil he had gotten nowhere with the redhead as she said, “I'll put something in the book, shall I?”

Retreating gracefully, he had plenty of experience dealing with temperamental dignitaries to know when it was appropriate to keep pushing for what he wanted and when it was time to back off Phil merely replied, “Thank you.” and settled in to listen to Tony speak. 

As pandemonium broke out, Phil frowned. Tony had just announced he was shutting down Stark Industries most profitable division without batting an eye. Listening to Obadiah try and placate the reporters who were all calling out questions at once Phil frowned further. Something had happened, something neither Phil and Clint or Tony had been prepared for when the genius had been taken captive. Phil wasn’t sure if they would all make it to the other side of this road bump. 

Phil waited and watched with the help of Jarvis as one by one Tony sent everyone away. Watched as the mask fell off the genius’s face and revealed the bleak anguish underneath. Rolling his eyes, Phil made his way to Tony’s kitchen on light feet to make hot chocolate. Once he had two cups in hand, he made his way down into the workshop where Tony was fiddling with a three-dimensional design of a man shaped blueprint. Phil set one cup next to Tony’s elbow and slid around to the other side of the table to wait and watch. 

It didn’t take long for the genius to look up and meet his gaze. Phil smiled and said, “Good to see you home.” 

Tony’s answering smile was somewhat hesitant and abundantly tentative as the genius picked up his cup of hot chocolate and held it in his hands. Phil watched as Tony looked down. Silence had prevailed for a long moment before Tony told him, “You know, I didn’t think I was going to make it home, and part of me thought it would be better that way.” 

Phil had wondered since he had seen Tony that afternoon at the press conference just why it had taken the genius so long to get a message to the outside world. Tony was the best hacker that the Marksmen employed and had managed to signal reinforcements with nothing more than a pager and a television antenna once. A cave in the middle of the desert with every tool at his beck and command should have been cake. Phil just hummed and sipped his hot chocolate. Like Clint and Tony had done for him once so long ago, he sat quietly with his full attention on the genius. 

Tony started talking a few moments later, “I knew something fishy was going on, felt it deep down in my gut and just ignored it. Looking back, I knew something was hinky when I put the bullet proof vest on. It looked like mine, but it was off. The weight or the smell or the feel something. Then there was the ride out to the site. I counted six men with goats walking along paths near the road. Not herds just twos or threes. That was suspicious enough, but I didn’t pay it any mind. I was much more focused on what I was going to say in just a few minutes to a bunch of top military brass to get them to invest in the latest and greatest Stark tech. Rhodey was all come on man, you gotta do this get your head in the game.” 

Phil watched as Tony looked around the room and took a sip of his hot chocolate before remarking, “You know something Phil, I don’t know when it happened, but I’m tired. Was tired before all of this started. I think I’ve been tired since Mom and Dad really. In one way or another. Did you know that I am an alcoholic?” 

Phil sipped his chocolate and considered Tony’s question. They had drifted apart in the past few years. Still far closer than Phil had any right to hope but no longer close enough that Phil knew every little detail of Tony’s life. He had thought it was a product of the genius becoming an adult and drifting off to carve his own niche. With a shake of his head, Phil said, “I didn’t, I probably should have, but we’ve drifted a bit over the last few years.” 

He had watched Tony nod before the genius confessed, “I didn’t realize it until I was in that cave and all I wanted was Clint and a drink. At least my priorities were still somewhat in order since it’s always been Clint first. But even that I don’t think is going to last much longer. We’ve been fighting a lot. It seems like every time we try and talk it just more anger. I’ve let myself lose so much over the last decade at least that I don’t even know where to begin to start taking it back. Obie’s got Stark Industries, SHIELD’s got Clint and you, and me? I’ve got the number one weapons manufacturing company in the world that’s back door dealing with terrorist.” 

Phil nodded and said, “SHIELD doesn’t have all of Clint and I you know? The only reason Clint isn’t plastered to your side right now is that he’s taking care of mop up, per orders from number two. Natasha is looking into something that randomly showed up in my inbox concerning you, or she would be here to give you shit. I know you, and she doesn't get along the best, but she cares, in her own way and I told Fury to stick his marching orders where the sun doesn't shine when he tried to assign me a mission to Pakistan to deal with the diplomatic fallout. No matter what thought you’ve gotten stuck in your head Tony, your family loves you and needs you.” 

He watched as Tony looked away. Phil ignored the sniffle as Tony asked, “How do I take back what’s mine, Phil?” 

Phil leaned back slightly and said, “By deciding who you want to be and letting no one tell you you're wrong. So Mr. Stark who do you want to be?” 

Phil smirked at the bark of laughter that erupted from Tony before the man shook his head and said; “I want to get back to being a man that fulfills the oath I took as a Marksman. I want to get my company out of being a death monger, and I want to fix things with Clint and you. I know I’ve been terrible, I know it, and I promise I’m going to do better.” 

Phil nodded and said, “Well then, that sounds like as good a place as any to start. What do you need me to do?”

And just like that, Phil watched a weight lift from Tony’s shoulders as the man launched into the suit of armor he had built to escape the cave and what he was going to do to improve it. 

Yawning hours later, Phil watched Tony sleep waiting for the nightmares to start. He knew they would come now. Clint had checked in about an hour before demanding to know how Tony was, Phil had been brief in his pronouncement. He didn’t want to give Clint an excuse to stay away. The two needed to work things out and the sooner, the better. It was apparent to Phil that the two were still as in love with each other as the day Phil had made their acquaintance. Twenty-three years was a long time for any relationship. Phil knew marriages that hadn’t lasted as long as Clint and Tony. 

A whimper from the bed had Phil moving to settle in next to the genius. Propping himself against the headboard Phil ran a hand through sweat dampened unruly hair and whispered quiet reassurances that Tony was safe and that Phil had the watch, nothing would happen while Phil was on guard. His gentle statements seemed to penetrate as Tony calmed down and drifted into a deeper slumber. Phil let the loving smile overtake his face. Tony always looked so young when he slept.


	3. Chapter 3

Sitting against the headboard, Phil had just dozed off with Tony sleeping peacefully curled up to his legs and a hand in the genius’s hair when footsteps on the marble had him jerking awake. His vision and his gun settled on Clint standing in the doorway looking unsure. Phil rolled his eyes and whispered, “Well come on then, bed’s big enough for one more.” 

He watched as Clint hesitated for a long moment before coming around the bed to where Phil was sitting and perched near his knees before saying, “I don’t know if he wants me here and I don’t want to start a fight so soon after he’s gotten home. It might be best if I just take one of the guest rooms.” 

Phil felt Tony tense slightly against him and assumed that the genius was actually awake. Considering Tony’s words from earlier and Clint’s words from that moment caused Phil to pause. Whatever had driven a wedge between the two had to have been serious for both Tony and Clint to be insecure in their relationship with the other. Phil had rarely ever seen Clint hesitate when it came to Tony Stark. Thinking quickly Phil nodded to himself. A little exaggeration of the truth would likely do them all good as Phil murmured, “If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather you here. I’m beyond done in and if you’re up for it could stand to have someone else take the watch.” 

He watched as Clint blinked before a small smile tugged his lips up before he said, “I’ll tell him you twisted my arm if it causes a fuss in the morning. Just let me change, and I’ll take over.” 

Phil waited until Clint was safely in the bathroom before letting a smug smile grace his features. He ran a hand through Tony’s hair and gently told the genius, “You might want to make a conversation with Clint one of your top priorities. He seems to be laboring under some misconceptions.” 

The head pillowed on his leg nodded before Tony whispered, “We fought before he left for Brazil. Said I didn’t love him like I used to and that he couldn’t find any proof but it always felt like I was stepping out on him. Said we should take a break.” 

Phil hesitated for a brief moment as he heard the shower turn on before he asked, “Did you?” 

He felt Tony nod against his leg before explaining, “After he left for Brazil this last time. It was stupid and petty and childish. I just couldn’t understand why he would think that he’s not enough for me.” 

Phil sighed and said as gently as he possibly could, “Perhaps because the tabloids see more of you than the rest of us do?” 

Phil reacted as quick as a snake when Tony made to roll away from him by rolling to lay on top of the genius. Mindful of the arc reactor, Phil allowed his weight to pin Tony to the bed before he explained, “I don’t know what’s going on Tony, I can only guess based on what I’ve seen from 2600 miles away. If you don’t talk to us, we’ll never know how to get to the root of the issue.” 

He felt Tony nod and was shifting so that he wasn’t on top of the genius when Clint’s voice spoke up from the bathroom door. The amusement in the tone was forced, and Phil very nearly rolled his eyes. These two were ridiculous. “Am I interrupting something?” 

Settling himself comfortably propped back up against the headboard Phil remarked cheerfully, “Nope, I just didn’t feel like a game of hide and seek the genius, billionaire, philanthropist.” 

The fixed look on Clint’s face bleeds off before the archer said, “I’ve always found that to be a terrible game to play at four in the morning as well.” 

An awkward silence hovered in the room for a long minute before Tony whispered, “I’ve missed you, come to bed?” Which was apparently all it took to get Clint settled in next to the genius. As Phil closed his eyes and heard one last statement before he drifted off, “Shh we’ll talk in the morning. I’ll be here this time, I promise.” 

Morning found Phil awake before either Clint or Tony. Shifting carefully out of bed Phil mused that perhaps the younger gentlemen were far more exhausted than Phil himself had been. With a shake of his head, Phil quietly went out of the penthouse and into the main rooms of the house. Once down in the kitchen Phil let out a sigh and rubbed his forehead. Things were not looking well in the Stark world. First, Tony’s kidnapped in Afghanistan, second, there was a hit put on him to be executed by the same men who kidnapped him. Phil wasn’t lying to himself but felt that until otherwise proven that the kidnapping and the hit came from the same source they should be kept separate. The third had him at Clint and Tony fighting at a level Phil had never in his wildest dreams expected. They had communicated so well once upon a time. Shaking his head and reaching into the cabinet for a coffee cup Phil contemplated what his fourth and fifth point might be, he knew they had to be at least at five. Tony Stark was involved after all. 

He moved around the kitchen with long familiarity. Tony set up his kitchen the exact same way in every home and Phil had long been familiar with the 5th Avenue mansion in New York. Sugar was always kept next to the stove, silverware to the left of the sink and coffee mugs directly over the coffee pot. Once Phil had his cup of coffee made he turned and leaned against the counter and froze. Pepper Potts was standing in the entryway to the kitchen staring at him. She gave him a long look before stating carefully, “Agent Coulson, of the Strategic Homeland…” 

Phil interrupted her, “SHIELD, yes.” 

He watched as she eyed him for a long moment before asking just as carefully, “So we don’t need to put that debrief down in the books do we?” 

Phil hesitated for a long moment before he gave her a look and said, “No that still needs to happen officially.”  
He watched her nod slowly before she asked, “So why are you here?” 

Phil smiled, he liked Pepper. Always had really, ever since he had run her background for Tony when he was looking to hire her as his personal assistant. Taking a sip of his coffee, Phil asked, “Shall we move into the living room?” At her look, he explained, “Tony is still sound asleep, and I’d like to keep him that way for as long as possible. He’s been through a terrible ordeal you know.” 

He watched her capitulate like a house of cards falling. Her pointed stiletto heels making a sharp click as she moved through space and into the living room. Phil brought her a cup of water along with his coffee and sat opposite of her. They regarded each other for a long moment before Phil remarked conversationally, “I met Tony Stark for the first time in nineteen eighty-five, he was fifteen at the time.” 

He watched her nod, but before either of them could say anything else, Clint slipped into the room and sat down. The archer looked between the two of them for a moment and declared, “Phil works with me, Pepper.” 

Phil snorted into his coffee but didn’t correct the inaccuracy. It really didn’t matter that when push came to shove Phil was Clint’s supervisor in just about everything concerning SHIELD. But the thoughtful look on Pepper’s face told Phil that Clint might very well have been referring to the Marksmen, and then the statement would be accurate. Phil wasn’t anything to the Marksman. Moments later bare feet running across marble sounded as Tony tore through his home to get to the front door. Beside him, Phil heard Clint sigh before getting up to talk to the genius. Leaving Phil and Pepper to eye each other up like tom cats gearing for a fight. 

~*~

Clint was gone, the bed was still warm where his lover had been, perhaps if he hurried he could stop Clint from leaving again. At least until they had talked. Throwing back the covers and moving as fast as his lungs would permit Tony took off for the front door. If his luck were in, he would get to the front stoop right about the same time as Clint would make an appearance from the garage. 

Tony made it to the steps and was greeted with silence and an empty driveway. Wrapping his arms around his torso, he stood there at a loss for what to do. Clint had broken his promise and left, and Tony hadn’t been quick enough to stop him. His head dropped, and he took slow deep breaths to ease the desire to cry. Stark men were made of iron, and they didn’t cry. 

Arms wrapped around him from behind and Tony yelped. Familiar arms, with familiar hands attached to them that gently clasped his elbows where thumbs brushed rhythmically back and forth. It was all so familiar. Tony imagined that it was just an illusion. His mind had finally snapped and was giving him exactly what he wanted. Tony squeezed his eyes closed and mumbled, “Go away, you’re not real.”

There was a familiar laugh behind him before the warm attached to the arms shifted, so it was in front of him. One large calloused hand came up to cup his cheek. One of the pesky tears he had been trying so fervently to stifle fell. A gentle thumb wiped it away before the spot was kissed gently. Clint’s voice told him quietly, “Sorry I wasn’t there when you woke up. Jarvis let me know that Phil had found himself in a bit of a pickle with Pepper and I wanted to save him from her interrogation. I didn’t leave, I wasn’t even thinking of leaving. A promise is a promise.” 

Tony nodded, still unable to open his eyes, positive that if he did it would all go away. Clint asked him “Have I ever broken a promise to you, Tony?” 

Tony shook his head negatively and risked opening his eyes. There was Clint, standing in front of him in nothing more than the pajama pants and tee shirt he had gone to bed in with a worried look on his face. Tony reached up and grabbed Clint’s wrists before he said, “I dreamed of you so many times in the cave. Always telling me to get up, to keep working, to come home. Then you were there when they found me, but you weren’t. I thought you were still mad and that was okay. I get it, I’m the worst. I want to do better, though. I don’t know what happened, but somewhere along the line, I lost sight of what was important. I lost sight of you, and Phil and making the world a better place. All that was left was the next invention, the next conference, the next way to make Obie happy by getting more money. I’m sorry it took almost dying for me to realize it.” 

Tony leaned forward into the hug Clint wrapped him up in before the archer told him, “I’m sorry too. I didn’t know how to reach you anymore. We used to tell each other everything, and I’m pretty sure the blame for the failing lies at my feet. I’m the one who has been sent hither thither all over the world on covert missions that I don’t _want_ to tell you about because-because I’m ashamed of them. I know I stopped asking you to vet missions after your parents, you had enough to deal with and then it just became a habit. You were on the other side of the country from me, and we didn’t talk often. Even when we did the conversations always seemed to get cut short because this person needed something or that and can I call you back but you never did, and I thought you were just pushing me off the phone so you could entertain someone who was there.”

Tony made a strangled noise and vehemently said, “Never, you’ve always been it for me.” 

Clint looked away as he asked, “What about Christine Everhart?” 

Tony stiffened and informed Clint dully, “A mistake, one I wasn’t planning on repeating even before Afghanistan.” Tony tried to take a step back, to put some distance between them but Clint’s arms pulled him closer. One arm went around his waist and the other tangled in his hair smoothing and untangling his bedhead. Tony capitulated and leaned back into Clint. They stood like that for a long moment before Clint said calmly, “When you first disappeared we went looking for anyone new that had entered your circle. Wanting to rule out homegrown threats before we pointed fingers internationally. I must have gone through six months of security footage from Jarvis’s archives never seeing anyone but Obie, Pepper and you. I must have watched the clip of the two of you a thousand times before my brain started working and noticed little things. The way your hands held her but didn’t move from her hips. The way she kissed you but not the reverse. It was like you were going through the motions just to say you did. It made me wonder. I’ve never loved anybody like I love you Tony Stark. I’ve never wanted to be with anyone but you. I was scared I had lost you. To money and science if not another lover.” 

Tony relaxed and tucked his face into Clint’s neck. With a sigh that made Clint shiver, Tony wrapped his arms around Clint’s waist and told him, “You probably were. I haven’t been a good partner to you for a long time. I don’t know how you managed to let me get away with it for so long. I promise I’m going to try and do better. You deserve everything, and I want to give them to you.” 

Clint’s chuckle had reverberated through Tony’s cheekbone before the archer said with a quiet conviction that left Tony speechless, “All I’ve ever wanted is you.” 

It took Tony a long moment before he was able to reply, “Well you’ve got me. For better or worse, in sickness and health and all that jazz.” 

Tony felt Clint laugh again as the archer’s head came to rest against Tony’s. They stayed like that for a long moment before Clint asked him, “We’ve still got a lot of work to do you know?”

Tony knew that, but he excelled at fixing problems. They would figure it out, of that Tony had no doubt. As long as they were both vested in making it work, the relationship would. Nodding, Tony replied, “I know, but I want to. As long as you do want this too, we’ll make it work out.” 

He felt Clint nod against his head as they stood there on Tony’s front stoop and hugged. The ridiculousness of it made him laugh until he couldn’t breathe. The fond smile playing about Clint’s lips as they reentered the house was worth the ache in his chest.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark I for Mark II and away we go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1 of 18 bullet points to write up... I think this is going to be a longer story than originally anticipated.

The atmosphere between Clint and Tony when Phil left had been smoothed back into a more regular appearance. He’d be the first to say that things weren’t fixed, not be any stretch of the imagination. But someone needed to report to Fury what was going on, and Phil wasn’t about to delegate that task to Clint this time. The archer needed to be with Tony. SHIELD had taken the man away far too much over the last year, and the strain of that was showing. Phil was planning to have a word with Fury about that as well. There was no reason that Clint should have been on back to back missions for such an extended period of time. Phil knew _why_ Fury had done it; when there were so few people to trust it became hard to assign things to others. That didn’t make it right. 

Phil boarded his plane with trepidation. He just knew something was going to go wrong in his absence. 

~*~  
Tony Stark might have miscalculated; it wasn’t a big miscalculation really. Just a little one. Apparently, he couldn’t fit his own hand into the well for the arc reactor. Which was a problem. The math had worked; his hand should have fit. With a resigned sigh, Tony conceded defeat and paged Pepper. Clint’s hands were bigger than his own so that wouldn’t work. Hopefully, Pepper had delicate woman’s hands and would help him out. He just needed to get the copper wrapped ring out of the bottom of the well. Or stopped it from brushing the side of the well. Either option worked really. He’d build a robot to do this later. 

“Let’s see them, show me your hands.”

Tony watched as she held up her hands and felt the panic start. He was going to do this, he was going to let someone else touch the reactor. Tony wished Phil were still here; his knobby, bony fingers would have folded just right to fit into the well. All he said in response to Pepper’s gesture was, “Oh, wow. They are small. Very petite, indeed. I just need your help for a sec.”

He watched her walk over, horror and pity written all over her face and he grit his teeth. This is why he didn’t want anyone else to know, to touch, to understand. Tony caught her shiver before she said, “Oh, my god, is that the thing that’s keeping you alive?”

He tried to brush her concern off, play dumb about what she really meant as he told her, “It was, it is now an antique. This is what will be keeping me alive for the foreseeable future. I’m swapping it up for an upgraded unit, and I just ran into a little speed bump.”

“Speed bump, what does that mean?” Was Pepper’s response. Tony nearly rolled his eyes. Why couldn’t she focus on the things he wanted her to hear. Like an upgraded model, or swapping. 

“It’s nothing. It’s just a little snag. There’s an exposed wire under this device, and it’s contacting the socket wall causing a bit of a short. It’s fine.” 

She looked at him like Tony had gone insane and she was about to call for a padded room on his behalf, but in the end, she asked, “What do you want me to do?”

Tony handed her the old reactor and tried not to think about having her hands inside his chest as he said, “Put that on the table over there. That is irrelevant.”

Pepper’s exclamation of “Oh, my God!” when the cavity was finally revealed didn’t help his nerves, and the monitor on his heart sped up accordingly. Tony was just thankful that Pepper didn’t notice as he told her, “I want you to reach in, and you’re just gonna gently lift the wire out.”

“Is it safe?” She asked in return. Tony wanted to scream at her that no, no it wasn’t safe. The device powering his heart was currently out of his chest, she was about to reach into the aforementioned chest and could potentially kill him, and that her ability to follow his directions was shit. Tony really, really didn’t want her doing this. Unfortunately, Tony didn’t have any other options at the moment since the bit of wire brushing the wall was electrocuting him, and that brought back all sorts of not good memories. He hadn’t been able to shower for two days, and that just wasn’t going to fly for much longer. 

His response to her, though, was only, “Yeah, it should be fine. It’s like Operation. You just don’t let it touch the socket wall, or it goes ‘beep.'”

Tony thought that was pretty cut and dry clear, and yet Pepper asked a moment later, “What do you mean, ‘Operation’?”

He rolled his eyes, and told her as reassuringly as possible, “It’s just a game, never mind. Just gently lift the wire. Okay?”

Pepper’s “Okay” had him smiling expect as he was telling her “Great,” she said, “I don’t think I’m qualified to do this.” 

Tony was getting frustrated, perhaps he should have just waited for Phil to get back. Except he was almost finished with the theoretical portion of his new suit and wanted to have, the Mark II chest piece installed to ensure that he couldn’t damage it when testing. Tony was going to fly. Tony kept his voice level as he told Pepper, “No, you’re fine. You’re the most capable, qualified, trustworthy person I’ve ever met. You’re gonna do great.” 

Tony felt he probably deserved the look of skepticism that she gave him since they both knew that Tony had been trusting Phil Coulson and Clint Barton for a decade longer than he had known her. It didn’t matter as long as she helped him with the little problem of the wire. He’d tell her whatever she needed to hear at this point. Looking her over he asked, “Is it too much of a problem to ask? Cause I’m…”

“Okay, okay” He heard Pepper say over top of him as he finished telling her, “I really need your help here.” 

She nodded and said, “Okay” one more time before sticking her fingers into the socket. Tony would have made fun of her for being such a girl at her next statement if he hadn’t been freaking out. “Oh, there’s pus!” 

Breathlessly, Tony explained, “It’s not pus. It’s an inorganic plasmic discharge from the device, not from my body.” 

Her only response was, “It smells!” 

Tony could only nod and not look at what she was doing as he agreed, “Yeah, it does.” Swallowing past the fear threatening to escape in a series of terror induced screams Tony said, “The copper wire. The copper wire, you got it?” 

Pepper exclaimed, “Okay, I got it. I got it!” 

Relief sweep through him at her pronouncement as he told her, “Okay, you got it. Now, Don’t let it touch the side when you’re coming out!” Tony might have yelled the last bit as Pepper did exactly what he had just told her not to do. Her panicked apologies did nothing to sooth the tremble in his muscles as he snarked, “That’s what I was trying to tell you before. Okay, now make sure that when you pull it out, you don’t…”

Tony trailed off as she pulled the magnetic ring out of its seat in the bottom of the socket and exclaimed, “There’s a magnet at the end of it!” 

He cursed himself, and her, in four different languages and vowed to be more patient about things in the future as he said, “That was it, you just pulled it out. No! Don’t put it back in!” 

She looked at him like he was going to die as she asked, “Okay what do I do? What’s wrong?”

Tony tried to take a breath, but his lungs didn’t want to work. He wanted to tell Jarvis to turn the flat line tone off but didn’t have the breath, and in typical Tony Stark fashion he said, “Nothing, I'm just going into cardiac arrest ‘cause you yanked it out like a trout…” 

Tony stopped. It wasn’t Pepper’s fault. She didn’t have a clue what she was doing, and Tony knew they didn’t communicate well. He felt bad when his words registered, and she squeaked “What? You said it was safe!” 

Tony didn’t roll his eyes, just pressed the mark II chest piece into her hands and said, “We gotta hurry. Take this, you gotta switch it out really quick.”

Tony then stared at her baffled when said turned and instead of putting the new device into the socket so he could live told him gravely, “Tony? It’s going to be okay. I’m gonna make this okay.”

Tony mumbled, “Let’s hope.” As black spots started dancing in his vision. He looked up at the ceiling and explained, “Okay, you’re gonna attach that to the base plate. Make sure you…”

This time when he trailed off, it was because Pepper had managed to get the Mark II attached correctly. On the first try even. Tony made a mental note to never, ever ask Pepper to help with the arc reactor ever again. His heart couldn’t take it. He brushed her hands aside as he locked the new arc reactor into place saying, “Was that so hard? That was fun, right? Here, I got it. I got it. Here.” A look down at the pale blue light had him declaring, “Nice.” 

Pepper’s quiet question of “Are you okay?” Had Tony turning his head to look at her. 

Smiling Tony said, “I feel great. You okay?” 

The withering glare that she gave him told him that she was all sorts of not okay before Pepper informed him, “Don’t ever, ever, ever, ever ask me to do anything like that ever again.” 

Tony smirked, he hadn’t been planning on asking as it was, there were other people who he trusted that would understand his directions if the process ever needed to be done again. He sat up and started pulling off leads and wiping off inorganic plasmic discharge from his chest as Pepper asked, “What do you want me to do with this?” 

A glance over his shoulder showed him that she was holding the reactor that he had built in the cave. Tony kept himself from shuddering as he declared, “That? Destroy it, incinerate it.” 

Tony noted that Pepper looked upset when she asked, “You don’t want to keep it?” 

He turned to her, mustering as much patience as he could manage before telling her, “Pepper, I’ve been called many things. Nostalgic is not one of them.” 

Tony should have expected it, but the stiff, formal smile she gave him felt like a knife twisting in his gut. He’d hurt her feelings. It didn’t matter though because Tony needed her to leave so that he could have a little break down in response to Pepper’s hand being four inches deep inside his chest cavity. She asked him, “Will that be all Mr. Stark?” and with great relief, Tony informed her, “That will be all Ms. Potts.” 

He listened to her heels on his floor as she left as he chastised butterfingers about the state of his desk. Butterfingers wasn’t actually programmed to keep his workspaces clean, there were far too many reasons why that could be a bad idea, but it let Pepper think he was actually right as rain while she left his workshop. Once she was gone, he slumped down onto his couch and pressed his hands to his face. That had _not_ gone as well as hoped. The tremble in his muscles told him that clearly enough. The barely controlled need to vomit compounded it. Instead of thinking on either of those physical responses though Tony just sat on his couch and breathed in the familiar scent of leather, motor oil and coffee as he told himself that it was over and no one should ever have to reach inside of the socket again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm also going to try and get the conversation with Rhodey out today as well, BTW. No promises but I'm going to try.


End file.
